Figure skater Amanda Evora not looking to return to ice

2010 Winter Olympian Amanda Evora, who began figure skating as a 6-year-old in Sugar Land and went on to win medals at four U.S. Figure Skating national championships, said Tuesday she has ended her 10-year partnership with Mark Ladwig and does not expect to return to competitive skating.

Evora and Ladwig twice competed at the International Skating Union world championships and competed in the ISU Grand Prix series for six years. They placed second at the 2010 national championships to qualify for the Vancouver Olympics, where they were 10th.

She said she plans to complete work this summer on a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of South Florida and will work as a coach.

“If the opportunity to compete again arises that would be great, but I’m not looking for it,” she said. “Mark and I had a great 10-year career, and I just needed a change in my life. “

Evora, 27, was born in New York to parents of Filipino descent. The family lived in Bahrain, Dallas and Virginia before moving in 1995 to Houston, where Evora was coached by Megan Faulkner, who coached 1998 gold medalist Tara Lipinski, before she switched to pairs skating and moved during her junior year at Clements High School to train with Ladwig in Ellenton, Fla.

“The Olympics were a high point, and I’m glad I got to experience it,” she said. “But it’s the journey that counts, and I was honored to be able to display my hard work in front of an audience.”

In a statement from U.S. Figure Skating, Ladwig, who plans to continue competing, said, “Thank you to Amanda, my fellow Olympian, for partnering with me and for sharing in so many amazing experiences over the last decade.”